carbonara n.

in cookery, a pasta dish served with a sauce made from eggs, olive oil, cream, cheese, and strips of bacon or ham, 1958, from Italian alla carbonara, which perhaps from carbonara "charcoal kiln," and meaning "cooked (as if) in a kiln, or from or influenced by carbonata "charcoal-grilled salt pork." Or it may be a reference somehow to the Carbonari, the 19c. secret society of Italian patriots.